D-RAPCON’s on the Radar

Teammates Lockheed Martin and ARINC – world leaders in transportable radar systems and communications, engineering, and integration – have submitted a proposal to the Air Force’s Deployable Radar Approach Control transportable air traffic control program.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the earthquake in Haiti five years later clearly illustrated the need for modern rapidly deployable air traffic control systems (ATC) when both disasters effectively destroyed the existing ground-based systems needed to manage the flow of humanitarian relief aircraft.

To ensure rapid response to future natural disasters, as well as for tactical military missions, the U.S. Air Force has solicited bids for the Deployable Radar Approach Control (D-RAPCON) program. D-RAPCON will provide modern, transportable ATC systems that can reach anywhere around the globe by C-130 aircraft within 48 hours and, once there, be set up and operational in less than six hours.

Teammates Lockheed Martin and ARINC – world leaders in transportable radar systems and communications, engineering, and integration – have combined existing field-proven systems to develop an effective and affordable solution and submitted their proposal on July 26.

“Our bid carefully balances the service’s need for off-the-shelf products that reduce risk in a budget constrained environment,” said Greg Larioni, vice president of radar surveillance systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors business. “We have been designing and manufacturing transportable radars for decades with more than 100 systems deployed around the world today.”

Micro-EARTS is the only display system certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for providing both terminal and en route traffic control automation capabilities at FAA and Department of Defense sites, as well as for existing Air Force expeditionary air traffic control systems.

The D-RAPCON program calls for 19 new air traffic control surveillance radar systems that will replace systems that include the more than 40-year-old AN/TPN 19 landing control center.